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SPECIAL REPORT
M4E TURNS 10 TELESCREEN AT 30
www.tvkids.ws
OCTOBER 2013
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TV KIDS
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m4e Turns 10 Hans Ulrich Stoef
In 2003, Hans Ulrich Stoef teamed with Michael Büttner to launch m4e. With its motto, “Made for Entertainment,” the company has become a full-service brand-management firm in the kids’ and family arena. As m4e marks its tenth anniversary, Stoef elaborates on the company’s successful model.
TV KIDS: How did you want to position m4e? STOEF: It was our goal to start a brand-management
company which would be involved in all aspects of the business and to become one of the key players for kids’ and family entertainment. At that time we were more of a licensing company with some experience in the world of television production and distribution.We didn’t own any IP ourselves.We distributed some television shows but we didn’t own any. Today, ten years later, it’s a completely different story. Being a brand-management company, we do everything, from development to scripting, producing, distributing and licensing and merchandising, and we even have our own television platform called YEP! We have a clear vision and over the course of time we had the chance to add one business field after the other.
FIFA World Cup was in Germany in 2006. That helped us to generate cash flow. At the same time we had a bit of luck by starting a celebrity marketing side of the business and we were marketing [the German singer, actress and TV personality] Yvonne Catterfeld, who was a very famous star at the time. We did a fantastic deal with the retail chain Pimkie, which sold over 2.5 million units of branded apparel from Yvonne Catterfeld. That brought money to the company and we were able to push it to a level where we decided to do an IPO in order to have more capital for investment into content and TV production and distribution. Those were important steps for the future. Then on the television side, in 2003-2004 we started our first co-production with Rainbow in Italy, for Monster Allergy. We sold it to ZDF and that gave us some significance in the market in Germany. Finally we were able to go public with the company in 2007 on a newly developed segment in Germany, called Entry Standard, on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
TV KIDS: How important was the acquisition of Telescreen to your expansion strategy? STOEF: Very important.We didn’t really have a catalogue. We thought we’d need some experienced people in the international-distribution business and a small catalogue of quality programming to build relationships with all the broadcasters around the world on a regular basis. We discovered that Telescreen was the best option for us. TV KIDS: You also acquired the TV-Loonland library. STOEF: One of the most important steps for us was to
acquire the old TV-Loonland back catalogue, with approximately 1,600 episodes of programming. The majority of it we own 100 percent. Even if it’s not A-plus content, it gave us more product to distribute while it brought more cash flow to the company. That was very significant in order to reach the next level in our strategy.
TV KIDS: What were some of the early moves you
made that paved the way for the company’s expansion? STOEF: At the beginning we had to generate some cash
flow because we had some expensive ideas! [Laughs] We represented the German Football Federation and the national team, starting in 2004—two years before the
TV KIDS: What led to the launch of YEP!, your new TV channel? STOEF: About two years ago I developed a concept to start our own free-to-air, advertising-driven television platform in Germany for boys’ action-adventure and fan-
By Mansha Daswani
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TV KIDS
One-stop shop: m4e AG owns 100 percent of Telescreen and the consumerproducts company Tex-ass; and 50 percent of Lucky Punch, a development and production company, and YEP!, a kids’ TV channel.
tasy [content]. Germany, compared to other European markets, is underdeveloped in terms of boys’ action programming. When RTL II stepped out of that field there was a gap in the market and for us that opportunity was worthwhile to pursue. I brought in a company called Mainstream Media AG, which is a successful independent operator for pay-TV channels in Germany. I introduced the idea. What was needed was a partner who had the know-how to operate a TV channel, be an independent and be able to do the administration. We will take care about the concept, the marketing, the distribution. With Mainstream Media we found the best possible partner and together we started a company called YEP!, which m4e owns 50 percent of, Gottfried Zmeck’s Mainstream Media owns 46 percent, and Tim Werner [Mainstream’s COO] owns 4 percent.We’ve announced a major deal to partner with ProSiebenSat.1 Group to deliver between eight and nine hours of programming every day to their new freeto-air channel ProSieben MAXX and have brought very experienced management with Karola Bayr (formerly of Viacom and the Disney Channel) as CEO of YEP! and others to the company. The next step will be to start the YEP! advertising sales team and we are happy to say that we have found in Andreas Schöpf (ex-Viacom),VP of ad sales at YEP!, an experienced sales professional.
way through—and without the partners, or without our team, including Sjoerd Raemakers at Telescreen and all my colleagues here, it would not have been possible. TV KIDS: What are your goals for m4e? STOEF: We are still very dependent on the TV channels,
but with more and more digitization, content owners can make contact directly with the consumer for a reasonable amount of money. We don’t have to spend millions anymore to launch new content. Via the Internet, IPTV, video on demand we will find our demographic more easily in order to start our properties. In the short term, the ultimate goal is to continue to build our library with relevant and creative IP in a very strong way with new productions and if necessary to add third-party titles.We will have to find a good balance between library content and merchandisable properties in order to have a good mix and feed our licensing division with new properties where we can increase revenues and cash flow. Midterm we also want to extend our reach with YEP! into the pay-TV market and outside of Germany. Long term, we want to become one of the leading players worldwide in the area of kids’ and family entertainment with direct presence in the key markets.
TV KIDS: What have been m4e’s strategies for thriv-
TV KIDS: What are some of the highlights on your slate? STOEF: Our crown jewel is Mia and me. We are in a
ing in this challenging landscape? STOEF: I guess we prepared at an early stage. The old model was, you produce animation and about 95 percent of the financing will come from television and home video and the rest might come from licensing.A long time ago it was obvious to us that this would change. As a result we prepared m4e for the challenging future in order to give us an advantaged position over our competition. We noticed that in the worst case in the future, up to 80 percent of financing will have to come from licensing and 20 percent from television. Today it’s maybe 50-50. Therefore we needed to build a strong licensing business first before we go into television. We would not have been able to achieve all of that without the German broadcasters. ZDF especially supported us and our creative productions and ideas all the
second season now and we will most probably come up with a feature film and a third season. Our partner Gerd Hahn is already working on it and I am looking forward to many more productions with him and his team. We extended our partnership with our good friends from Rainbow on that property. We have high hopes for this brand for the coming years. We are also producing together with Studio Bozzetto, Studio Campedelli, Giunti and RAI and in association with SUPER RTL a new preschool show called Tip the Mouse. We are in development on a new show called Atchoo! with Cartobelano and Studio Campedelli and we are developing a feature film for our IP of Pinkeltje together with our partners from blue eyes Fiction. We want to stay focused and believe we will be able to produce about two shows a year, but not more.
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Telescreen at 30 Sjoerd Raemakers Telescreen is celebrating its 30th birthday. The company, which was acquired by m4e in 2008, was one of the pioneers of animated co-productions within Europe and with broadcasters in Japan. It has built up a library that includes Alfred J. Kwak, Miffy and Moomin, as well as new concepts like the m4e co-production Mia and me. General manager Sjoerd Raemakers, who has been with Telescreen since its inception, discusses the company’s history and its view of the business today.
TV KIDS: What advantages does Telescreen have being part of m4e? RAEMAKERS: We can make our own decisions. There’s not a lot of red tape. Both m4e and Telescreen are flat organizations. If there’s a good idea we can look at each other and say, Do we go for this? We don’t need a lot of meetings.We all have the same vision. Of course m4e has a more commercial view, from the licensing business. We at Telescreen look more from the traditional television and home-entertainment side, and now of course VOD.
TV KIDS: What can buyers expect from m4e and
business?
Telescreen content? RAEMAKERS: It’s always child friendly. There’s no aggressiveness.We don’t produce things that are hot for two or three years but rather programs that stay in the catalogue and will have value, like Alfred J. Kwak, which was produced in ’89. It is safe [content], and good quality, because we spend a lot of money on the visuals. We like to do things that are a little bit different, like Mia and me, which m4e produced with Rainbow and March Entertainment. [The combination of] live action and animation made it more expensive but we were the first ones to do a hybrid program [in quite some time]. Now we’re in a second season. People recognize that as a special production from a quality point of view.
RAEMAKERS: The buyers have become very picky.There
TV KIDS: What have been the major shifts in the kids’
are a lot of channels and outlets available. In certain markets, no real license fees are being paid because [broadcasters see some shows as] advertising for [consumer products]. Online andVOD is growing very fast.That is an additional market but it’s not replacing the home-entertainment [revenues]. It’s difficult times, but things are evolving. TV KIDS: What are your growth opportunities? RAEMAKERS: The online business. Certain markets have
not developed it yet or have just started.There are different rules. Some of it is straight buys. Some of it is royalty share. Some is a combination. Some is ad-supported. There is a need for individual viewing, as I call it, watching at the time you want. [In this environment] you need to stand out.
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What’s Being Said About m4e
TV KIDS
“For more than ten years now, the happy, suntanned and slightly exhausted face of Ulli Stoef has accompanied me on my trip home from Cannes to Munich. An extraordinary professional who perfectly lives up to the motto, Work hard and play hard!”
Dr. Herbert Kloiber, Tele München Gruppe “Ulli Stoef and his company have an impressive track record in the area of children’s programming. Congratulations! This is why we are proud of the partnership with m4e AG in our YEP! TV joint venture to which Ulli, with his restless competence, makes a great contribution.”
Gottfried Zmeck, CEO, Mainstream Media “Ulli is amazing. He texts you a solution to your problem while you are still trying to explain it to him by phone.”
Gerhard Hahn, Creator of Mia and me; CEO, Hahn Film; & Managing Director, Lucky Punch “Ulli has always been an impressive entrepreneur, from the first days during our TMG days when he built CTM, to the present days of running m4e. Congratulations on this outstanding performance!”
Bernd Schlötterer, CEO, Palatin Media “Congratulations on 10 years m4e AG. Since the very beginning [you have been] a reliable, creative partner for ZDF. m4e knows how to produce great shows that kids appreciate.”
Nicole Keeb, Head of International Co-productions & Acquisitions, ZDF
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TV KIDS
10
Years of m4e
30
Years of Telescreen
2003
The company is founded as m4e GmbH & Co. KG in November.
1983
2004
m4e signs a long-term exclusive licensing and merchandising cooperation with the German Football Association (DFB).
1984-89 Productions include The Dummies, Ox Tales,
2006
2007
2008
m4e premieres the official DFB mascot Paule; launches a new celebrity marketing division, Faces & Names; and takes on the merchandising for Spider-Man 3. m4e goes public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Later, m4e enters into a joint venture with Gerhard Hahn, called Lucky Punch, and takes over Tex-ass Textilvertriebs GmbH, a leading manufacturer of licensed textiles and accessories. Rainbow and m4e begin working together, including on the German release of the Winx Club feature film. m4e buys Telescreen and builds a library of more than 600 episodes of kids’ and family entertainment.
2009
Pinkeltje worldwide rights acquired; Mia and me production begins.
2010
m4e is tapped to handle licensing for KiKA’s KiKANiNCHEN brand. Mia and me notches up its first sale and is named most-viewed program at MIP Junior.
2011
m4e acquires the TV-Loonland catalogue, expanding its library to more than 2,200 episodes of kids’ and family entertainment. Mia and me wins the MIP Junior Licensing Challenge.
2012
Mia and me wins the Tricksfor-Kids Award at the ITFS. Mia and me premieres in Germany and production begins on season two. m4e and Mainstream Media announce plans for a TV channel called YEP!
2013
YEP! goes on the air. Turning 10, m4e stands as an international brand-management and media company with expertise in creation, production, distribution and marketing of family content.
Telescreen is founded as one of the first dedicated kids’ animation companies. Cubitus, Star Street and Alfred J. Kwak.
1990
The first season of Moomin is produced.
1992
Based on characters created by Dick Bruna, Telescreen produces the first season of Miffy.
1995
The premiere of Bamboo Bears.
2001
Production begins on Anton, created by Danish Academy Award-winning animator Børge Ring.
2004
Telescreen acquires various titles from Egmont Imagination, including Lizzie McGuire and Hans Christian Andersen: The Fairytaler.
2005-06 Telescreen co-produces further episodes of Paz, with Discovery Kids and King Rollo Films.
2007
Production commences on Frog & Friends, based on the books by Max Velthuijs.
2008
Frog & Friends is launched at the closing party for MIP Junior 2008 as Telescreen marks its 25th anniversary. Telescreen becomes part of m4e.
2009
The company takes on the series Rudolf and Conni.
2010
Telescreen begins distributing Ask Lara, a production of Tomavistas from Spain, in co-production with TV3 de Catalunya, Red Kite from the U.K. and Submarine from the Netherlands.
2011
Telescreen acquires the international sales rights to Pixi and the Magic Wall.
2012
Telescreen produces the theatrical animated feature Miffy the Movie.
2013
Telescreen turns 30.
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NEW SHOWS
This live-action and CGI animated hybrid consists of 26 half-hour full HD episodes, with a second season of 26 episodes in production. Targeted to kids 6 to 12, particularly girls, the show revolves around elves and unicorns and features elements of fantasy, adventure and comedy. Created by Gerhard Hahn, it is produced by Lucky Punch (m4e’s joint venture with Hahn), Rainbow S.r.l. and March Entertainment, with ZDF Enterprises and Rai Fiction. m4e/Telescreen and Rainbow have sold season one to 70-plus markets, including KiKA, Rai, Nickelodeon, Televisa and Clan TV, among others. A feature film is in development for 2015. The licensing and merchandising program includes more than 90 partners worldwide. Season two is now in production, and season three is already in development.
The new preschool series will be ready for delivery in 2014. It is based on a character made famous in a series of books by Italian artist Andrea Dami, published by Giunti Editore, which have sold 7.8 million copies worldwide. The comedy is being produced in CGI animation. Rai in Italy and SUPER RTL in Germany are on board for the 52x7-minute series, which is a co-production of Studio Bozzetto, Giunti Editore, Studio Campedelli and Rai Fiction in association with m4e.
This series for kids aged 6 to 10 is in development for a planned 2015 delivery. The 52x11-minute comedy features great characters and cool graphics, delivering the message that diversity is a great treasure and each person is extraordinary just because of who they are. It is being produced by Cartobaleno, Studio Campedelli and m4e.
A TV series and feature film are being developed for this property, based on the original books by Dutch author Dick Laan, which have sold more than 4 million units worldwide. The new 52x11minute series is co-produced by m4e, Telescreen, Déjà Vu Entertainment and blue eyes Fiction. The adventure show is targeted to the whole family.
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All About The media company YEP! is a joint venture between m4e AG (50 percent) and Mainstream Media (50 percent, of which 4 percent is held by Tim Werner). It was founded by m4e CEO Hans Ulrich Stoef and Mainstream Media CEO Gottfried Zmeck. The core business of Mainstream Media is broadcasting, with the channel operating the subscription channels GoldStar TV, Heimatkanal and Romance TV. MANAGEMENT
Karola Bayr, CEO of YEP!, has run the operation since October 2012. Before, she was a member of the senior management at Viacom International Media Networks in Europe, responsible for the brand and channel management of Comedy Central and MTV. As general manager, she led the re-positioning of VIVA. Previously, she was program director at Jetix. Her career also includes time at EM.TV & Merchandising and ProSieben. Andreas Schöpf,VP of sales at YEP!, is responsible for the marketing of all advertising slots and space. Back in 2002, Schöpf helped build up the Fox Kids brand in Europe. For the launch of Nickelodeon, MTV Networks made him head of sales and in 2009 he became responsible for the sales of Nickelodeon brands and platforms in Germany. In 2011 he became
Leading YEP!: m4e’s Hans Ulrich Stoef, YEP!’s Karola Bayr and Mainstream Media’s Gottfried Zmeck and Tim Werner.
managing director of the PR and communications agency “Redaktion und Alltag.” Along with classic advertising connected to kids’ programming, he can offer YEP! clients special advertising formats and integrated cross-media formats. FREE TV REACH
YEP! entered into a long-term, strategic cooperation agreement for a branded block on ProSieben MAXX, allowing the ProSiebenSat.1 group to extend its portfolio into the kids’ and youth environment. ProSieben MAXX is the new free-TV channel that launched on September 3, 2013, at 8:12 p.m. with the free-TV premiere of Captain America: The First Avenger. ProSieben MAXX broadcasts, among others, exclusive free-TV English-language TV series, in their original format with subtitles. The channel stands for high-quality television
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for a male target group of 30 to 59 years of age, with drama series from the U.S., international documentaries and factual-entertainment formats as well as inhouse magazine formats. ProSieben MAXX will be received in more than 70 percent of all German households, via satellite, DVB-T in Munich/Southern Bavaria, and through cable providers Kabel Deutschland, Primacom and others. Just recently, Unitymedia KabelBW announced it will provide the new channel on analog and digital. On September 4, 2013, ProSieben MAXX started showing in its daytime slots the YEP! branded block, with established premium titles and free-TV premieres for a young, mainly male target group between 6 and 13 years of age. Among the programs are the free-TV premieres of new seasons of the successful TV series Pokémon and One Piece, as well as the TV premiere of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal season two. Further highlights come from the superhero, action and adventure genres. POSITIONING
YEP! is targeting the content needs of kids aged 6 to 13, primarily boys but not excluding girl audiences. YEP! offers a wide range of high-quality programs and delivers a broad diversity of genres with German kids’ television. In addition to action and adventure, comedy, fantasy, mystery and sci-fi have their place. YEP! is male, young, sporty and modern. The programs on the channel offer a high potential for viewer identification and entertainment. Boys are searching for idols, offbeat characters and cool TV formats. YEP! allows heroes and their stories to take center stage. The brand strategy and content provide the basis for all activities on further platforms and distribution channels. The complementary and distinctive positioning is unique in German free TV. YEP! airs from Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and then from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. (including lead-in from Warner Bros.) The Saturday schedule is 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. On Sundays, it runs from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. (including lead-in from Warner Bros.)
Plan of action: Superheroes and adventure abound on YEP!, which offers up shows like Nerd Corps’ Storm Hawks.
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
International anime brands like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Naruto and One Piece serve as long-term, consistent output and all have huge fan communities and strong audience loyalty. Hero stories such as Storm Hawks, Spectacular SpiderMan, Men in Black and Jackie Chan Adventures offer high identification potential and will also appeal to adults. The schedule will also include formats such as Drei Freunde und Jerry, Die Cramp Twins and Immer Ärger mit Newton, delivering entertaining slapstick, action and verbal humor.
Double trouble: The YEP! mix features Die Cramp Twins, delivering comedy and entertaining slapstick.
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What’s Being Said About m4e
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14 TV KIDS
“On behalf of Platinum Films in the U.K. we would like to extend our congratulations to m4e and Telescreen on their respective anniversaries. Undoubtedly they are the best in their territory, with a talent for producing and distributing high-quality children’s
entertainment franchises with strong international broadcast and commercial appeal. They are people you can rely on to recognize and build on the strengths of a property and they can always be trusted to do the right thing for their partners.”
Nigel Stone, CEO, Platinum Films “It looks like yesterday when Ulli told me that he has founded his company, m4e. I am really proud to be working with them as they celebrate their tenth anniversary. It is a true sign of success indeed. I sincerely congratulate Ulli and another valued partner Telescreen who are celebrating 30 years for their achievements and look forward to continue with many more years of collaboration and true friendship!”
Iginio Straffi, Chairman & CEO, Rainbow Group “Heroes for heroes: the team of YEP! congratulates m4e AG on its 10-year anniversary. We’re looking forward to a heroic time with you!”
Karola Bayr, CEO, YEP! “One of the Nickelodeon brands in the Netherlands, Kindernet, was actually founded by the predecessor of Telescreen, so in a way both brands are more related than many people are aware of. Nickelodeon still airs programming produced by them, like Mia and me, which does well for us. Here is to another 30 years!”
Victor Coolman, VP of Programming, Nickelodeon Northern Europe
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